Undefeated European champion McCloskey, 31, has been confirmed as Khan's opponent for the homecoming defence of his light-welterweight crown at Manchester's MEN Arena on 16 April.

The Northern Irish southpaw will head into the contest as a clear underdog, but McCloskey has taken confidence from Khan's last fight against Marcos Maidana in November.

The brutal bout in Las Vegas - which won the Boxing Writers Association of America's fight of the year award - saw Khan survive a torrid tenth round before claiming a points win.

Despite the victory, McCloskey feels that display also highlighted a number of weaknesses in Khan and claims he will be ready to take advantage when they meet.

"Maidana took serious punches from Khan but, except for the one body punch at the start when he went down, he wasn't rocked. Khan's not a big puncher," McCloskey stated.

"Khan is seen as a superstar but he's certainly beatable. Yes, he's improved dramatically under Freddie Roach but in his last fight Maidana had him rocked.

"The referee could have stepped in and stopped the fight when Maidana caught Khan in the 10th round but it was Khan's conditioning which stood by him - he ran like a mad man trying to stay out of the way."